Inline valve



United States Patent [72] Inventor Frank A. Lucardie 4153 N. Walnut St.,Baldwin Park, California 91706 21 Appl. No. 752,109

[221 Filed June 28, 1968 [45] Patented Oct. 20, 1970 [54] lNLlNE VALVE 5Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 137/219, 137/614.2 [51] lnt.Cl ..Fl6k 31/143,

F l6k 15/03 [50] Field ofSearch 137/495,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 765,849 7/1904 Merrill137/505.25X

Assistant ExaminerR. B. Rothman Attorney-Boniard I. Brown ABSTRACT: Aninline valve having a barrel containing a tubular plunger and valveoperating means such as coacting linear fluid pressure actuator means onthe barrel and plunger, for selectively moving the plungerlongitudinally toward one end of the barrel to an open position andtoward the opposite end of the barrel to a closed position. The plungercontains a longitudinal flow passage which communicates fluid inlet andoutlet ports in the ends, respectively, of the barrel when the plungeroccupies its open position. Coacting sealing means are provided on theplunger and barrel for blocking flow through the valve when the plungeroccupies its closed position. For low-pressure applications, the plungermay be sealed to the barrel by corrugated bellows which extend coaxiallybetween and are terminally sealed to the ends of the plunger and barrelin such a way that the bellows compress and extend longitu- 2,690,76110/1954 Gray 137/495 dinally during movement of the plunger between itsopened 3,322,138 5/1967 Backman 137/219 and closed positions.

L V 62 l. I Z 1 5 52 22 Patented Oct. 20, 1970 Sheet 1 of 2 A W 9. M 9 8Ivrswfae ZUCAEDIE 6M fa...

INLINE VALVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention Thisinvention relates generally to valves and more particularly to a novelinline valve.

2. Description of the Prior Art A great variety of valves have beendevised for controlling fluid flow through conduits. The existingvalves, however, are characterized by various deficiencies which detractfrom their usefulness. Many existing valves, for example, have anexternally extending valve operating stern which must be sealed to thevalve body by means of a seal ring, packing or the like. This stem sealis subject to wear and/or deterioration and thus must be periodicallyreplaced. Accordingly, such a stem seal constitutes a major deficiencyof such valves. Other existing valves eliminate the need for a stem sealby employing a hermetically sealed valve construction in which the valvemember is moved between its open and closed positions by fluid pressureor electromagnetic force. The existing valves of this latter type,however, as well as many of the existing stem valves, presentsubstantial resistance to flow and hence cause undesirable pressure lossin the fluid being controlled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a novelhermetically sealed inline valve which avoids both of the above-notedand other known deficiencies of the existing valves. To this end, thepresent valve is characterized, in general terms, by a barrel containinga tubular plunger which is movable longitudinally toward one end of thebarrel to an open position and toward the opposite end of the barrel toa closed position. Located at opposite ends of the barrel are fluidinlet and outlet ports, respectively. when the valve plunger occupiesits open position, the inlet and outlet ports communicate through alongitudinal flow passage in the plunger. The plunger and barrel areprovided with coacting sealing means for blocking flow through the valvewhen the plunger occupies its closed position. In the disclosedembodiment of the invention, for example, at least one port of thebarrel is disposed on the common longitudinal axis of the barrel andplunger and is surrounded by the valve seat which faces the adjacent endof the plunger. This end of the plunger mounts a valve head whichengages the valve seat when the plunger occupies its closed position.Preferably, the other valve port is also located on the commonlongitudinal axis of the barrel and plunger in such a way that fluidundergoes essentially uninterrupted straight longitudinal flow throughthe valve from its inlet port to its outlet port.

The valve is also equipped with operating means for selectively shiftingthe valve plunger between its open and closed positions. As will appearfrom the ensuing description, various operating means, including bothfluid pressure and electromagnetic means, may be utilized for thispurpose. In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, thevalve-operating means comprise external piston means on the plungerwhich slide within the barrel and define with the barrel pressurechambers which may be selectively pressurized with a working fluid,either a gaseous or a liquid fluid, for shifting the plungerlongitudinally between its open and closed positions.

The plunger may be sealed to the barrel in any convenient way to preventfluid leakage between the barrel and plunger. According to a feature ofthe invention, however, when the valve is designed for low-pressurefluid systems, the plunger is sealed to the barrel by means ofcorrugated bellows. These bellows extend coaxially between and areterminally sealed to the ends of the plunger and barrel, respectively,in such a way that the bellows undergo longitudinal compression andextension during movement of the plunger between its open and closedpositions.

The valve may be arranged in such a way that the valve plunger eitheropens or seats against fluid pressure. The valve may be designed for useas a shutoff valve only or as a comm; mu... A nIunnI! "an" Moreover. ifdesired. the valve operating means may be eliminated to permit the valveto function solely as a check valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a perspective view of aninline valve according to the invention illustrating in diagrammaticfashion external forming for operating the valve plunger between itsopen and closed positions;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the valve, taken online 2-2 in FIG. 1, illustrating the valve plunger in its closedposition;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal perspective section through thevalve;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the valveillustrating the valve plunger in its open position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through a modified valvehaving an alternate type of sealing means for sealing the plunger to thebarrel when the plunger occupies its closed position; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the valve plunger in its openposition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to FIGS. 1 through 5of these drawings, there is illustrated an inline valve 10 according tothe invention hav ing a barrel 12 containing a plunger l4. Barrel 12 hasan inlet port 16 at one end and an outlet port 18 at the opposite end.Valve plunger 14 is movable longitudinally toward one end of the barrel12 to its closed position of FIG. 2 and toward the opposite end of thebarrel to its open position of FIG. 5. Extending longitudinally throughthe valve plunger M is a central flow passage 22 which communicates theinlet port I65 and outlet port 18 when the plunger occupies its openposition of FIG. 5.

Operating means 24 are provided for shifting the valve plunger 14between its open and closed positions. As noted earlier, variousoperating means may be employed for this purpose, including both fluidpressure and electromagnetic means. The particular valve-operating meansillustrated comprise fluid pressure actuated means including pistonmeans 26 on the plunger 14 which define with the barrel 12 a pair ofpressure chambers 28 and 30. As will appear presently, these pressurechambers may be selectively pressurized, by an external pressurizingsystem 32, to shift the valve plunger between its open and closedpositions.

Briefly, in operation of the valve 10, the latter is closed by operatingthe external pressurizing system 32 to shift the valve plunger 14 to itsclosed position of FIG. 2, wherein the sealing means 20 engage to blockflow through the valve from its inlet port 16 to its outlet port 18. Thevalve is opened by operating the pressurizing system to shift the valveplunger to its open position of FIG. 5. In this open position, flowoccurs from the inlet port 16, through the longitudinal plunger passage22, to the outlet port 18. A significant feature of the inventionresides in the fact that fluid undergoes essentially straightlongitudinal flow through the valve, when open, whereby only minimalpressure drop occurs in the fluid. Moreover, the valve is hermeticallysealed, thus eliminating the need for stem seals and other externalseals which are prone to wear and leakage.

Referring now in greater detail to the embodiment of the invention whichhas been selected for illustration in the drawings, the valve barrel 12is composed of three parts, to wit, a right-hand end section 12a, acentral section 1212, and a left-hand end section 12c. The rightandleft-hand end sections 12a, 12c are similar and each includes acylindrical wall 32 closed at one end by an end wall'34 and surroundedat its other end by an annular flange 36. The inlet and outlet ports 16,18 extend coaxially through the end walls 34. These ports may beinternally threaded, as shown, for connection to fluid conduits forconveying fluid to and from the valve. The central section 12b of thebarrel is essentially a tube having an internal annular shoulder orflange 38. This central barrel section is coaxially disposed between theinner flanged ends of the outer barrel sections 12a, I2c. The outerbarrel section flanges 36 are recessed to receive the ends of thecentral barrel section and are sealed to the latter section by gaskets,as shown. The three barrel sections 12a, 12b and 12c are secured inassembled relation by tie bolts 39 which extend through the flanges 36.

Thevalve plunger 14 has a central sleeve 40 which extends the fulllength of the plunger and slidably through the central opening in thecentral internal barrel shoulder 38. Seals 42 are provided for sealingthe barrel shoulder 38 to the plunger sleeve 40. The piston means 26 onthe plunger comprise a pair of pistons 44, 46 which coaxially surroundand are formed integrally with the plunger sleeve 40. The plunger piston44 is located a short distance from the left-hand end of the barrelsleeve 40 and is disposed between the left-hand barrel end wall 34 andthe central barrel shoulder 38. The plunger piston 46 is located at theright-hand extremity of the plunger sleeve 40 and is disposed betweenthe right-hand barrel end wall 34 and the central barrel shoulder 38.These pistons are sealed to the inner wall of the barrel by seal rings48. The pistons define with the central barrel shoulder 38 the pressurechambers 28 and 30, respectively.

The external pressurizing system 50 for activating the valve operatingmeans 24 forms no part of the present invention and thus need not beexplained in detail. Suffice it to say that this external pressurizingsystem has a selector valve 50 which may be operated to selectivelycommunicate either pressure chamber 28 or 30 of the inline valve to afluid pressure source and to vent the other pressure chamber. Theselector valve may be electrically operated and communicates to thepressure chambers 28, 30 through fluid connections 52, 54 on the valvebarrel 12. Operation of the selector valve 50 to pressurize the chamber28 and vent the chamber 30 of the inline valve 10 drives the valveplunger 14 to its closed position of FIG. 2. Operation of the selectorvalve to pressurize chamber 30 and vent chamber 28 drives the plunger toits open position of FIG. 5.

The sealing means of the illustrated inline valve 10 comprise a valvehead 56 which is integrally formed on, welded to, or otherwise providedon one end of the valve plunger 14. This valve head carries a seal ring58 which is engageable with a valve seat 60 surrounding the adjacentvalve barrel port. In this regard, it is significant to recall that thepresent valve may either open or close against fluid pressure. Theparticular valve illustrated opens against fluid pressure. In this case,the valve head 56 is located at the end of the plunger 14 adjacent theoutlet port 18 of the valve barrel 12, and the valve seat 60 surroundsthe latter port. Extending through the valve sleeve 40, in the regionbetween the valve head 56 and the adjacent plunger piston 44, are anumber of flow ports 62. It is now evident that when the valve plunger14 occupies its open position of FIG. 5, flow through the valve occursfrom the inlet port 16, through the central flow passage 22 in theplunger, then through the plunger ports 62 into the annular flow spacebetween the adjacent end of the plunger and the barrel 12, and thenbetween the valve head seal 58 and valve seat 60 to the outlet port 18.Movement of the plunger to its closed position engages the valve seal 58with the valve seat 60 to block flow through the valve. It will beobvious, of course, that if it is desired to have the valve closeagainst fluid pressure, the inlet and outlet connections to the valveare simply reversed.

For low-pressure applications, the valve plunger 14 may be sealed to thevalve barrel 12 by means of a pair of corrugated bellows 64. Thesebellows are dimensioned to fit closely within the barrel and arecoaxially disposed between the barrel end walls 34 and their respectiveadjacent plunger pistons 44, 46. The ends of the bellows are brazed orotherwise sealed to the barrel end walls and pistons. It will beobserved that these bellows undergo longitudinal extension andcontraction during movement of the valve plunger 14 between its open andnImm/I nneitinnc Turning now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is illustrated amodified inline valve 10a according to the invention. This modifiedvalve is essentially identical to the inline valve just described exceptfor the sealing means 200 for sealing the plunger 14a to the barrel 12awhen the plunger occupies its closed position of FIG. 6. In this case,the sealing means comprise a valve head 56a which is separate from theplunger and is hinged to the plunger by means of a pivotal connection56b so that the head may swing about a transverse axis of the plunger.The valve head 56a has a first seal 56c facing and engageable with thevalve seat 60a on the barrel 12a. The valve head has a second seal 56dwhich faces and is engageable with the adjacent end of the valve sleeve40a. The modified valve is otherwise identical to the earlier valve,except that the valve ports 62 of the latter valve are eliminated andthe longitudinal passage 22a in the plunger 14a opens through the end ofthe plunger, as shown.

When the plunger'14a of the modified inline valve 10a is shifted to itsclosed position of FIG. 6, the pivotal valve head 56a is effectivelyclamped between the adjacent end of the plunger sleeve 40a and the valveseat 60a. The head seal 56c engages the valve seat and the head seal 56dengages the adjacent end of the plunger sleeve to block flow through thevalve. Movement of the plunger 14a to its open position releases thevalve head 56a to swing away from the plunger sleeve 40a, under theaction of fluid pressure, whereby fluid may flow from the plungerpassage 22a, around the valve head, to the valve outlet port 18a, asshown.

At this point, it is significant to recall that the present inline valvemay be employed as a shutoff valve only, a combined shutoff and checkvalve, or a check valve only. When the valve is to operate only as ashutoff valve, it may be connected in a fluid system in such a way as toeither open or close against fluid pressure. If the valve is to operateas a combined shutoff and check valve, on the other hand, it is arrangedto close against the normal flow through the valve, whereby such flowwill retain the valve open while reverse flow will shift the valveplunger to its closed position. The valve is connected in the same waywhen it is to operate only as a check valve. In this case, however, thevalve operating means 24 may be eliminated.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with certain of itsphysical embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications of theinvention are possible within the spirit and scope of the followingclaims.

Iclaim:

1. A valve comprising:

a barrel having end walls, flow ports extending coaxially through saidend walls, a valve seat about one of said ports, and an internal annularshoulder intermediate said end walls;

a tubular plunger movable longitudinally in said barrel including asleeve having an external diameter substantially smaller then theinternal diameter of said barrel, annular pistons on said sleeve atopposite sides of said shoulder, and a longitudinal flow passageextending through and opening to the ends of said sleeve;

said plunger being movable longitudinally in the direction of said valveseat to a closed position wherein said valve head engages said seat andin the opposite direction to an open position wherein said valve head isspaced from said valve seat;

said barrel shoulder and one plunger piston defining therebetween afirst pressure chamber, and said shoulder and the other piston definingtherebetween a second pressure chamber; and

fluid connections on said barrel communicating with said whereinchambers, respectively, through which said chambers may be selectivelypressurized and vented to move said plunger between its open and closedpositions.

2. A valve according to claim 1 wherein said valve head is rigidlyjoined to said plunger sleeve and said plunger sleeve contains portsdirectly behind said valve head communicating said plunger passage tothe annular space between said plunger sleeve and said barrel in theregion between said valve head and the adjacent plunger piston.

3. A valve according to claim 1 wherein:

said valve head is pivotally mounted on the adjacent end of said plungersleeve for swinging on a transverse axis of said plunger:

said plunger passage opens longitudinally through said adjacent sleeveend; and

said valve head is engageable with said valve seat and said adjacentsleeve end when said plunger occupies its closed position.

4. A valve comprising:

a barrel having a first fluidport at one end and a second fluid port atthe opposite end;

a tubular plunger movable longitudinally in said barrel and containing acentral flow passage opening longitudinally through the end of saidplunger adjacent said second port;

said second port being coaxially disposed on the common axis of saidbarrel and plunger and said barrel having a valve seat surrounding saidsecond port;

said plunger being movable longitudinally toward said one end of saidbarrel to an open position wherein said ports communicate through saidflow passage and toward said opposite end of said barrel to a closedposition;

a valve head pivoted on said end of said plunger for swinging on atransverse axis of said plunger; and

said valve head being engageable with both said valve seat and said oneend of said plunger about the adjacent open end of said passage whensaid plunger occupies its closed position.

5. A valve comprising:

a barrel having a first fluid port at one end and a second fluid port atthe opposite end;

a tubular plunger movable longitudinally in said barrel and ccntaining acentral flow passage extending longitudinally through said plunger;

said plunger being movable longitudinally toward one end of said barrelto an open position wherein said ports communicate through said flowpassage and toward the opposite end of said barrel to a closed position;

coacting sealing means on one end of said plunger and the adjacent endof said barrel for blocking flow between the adjacent port and saidpassage when said plunger occupies its closed position;

said plunger comprises a sleeve having an external diametersubstantially less than the internal diameter of said barrel and a pairof external annular pistons surrounding said sleeve adjacent the endsthereof and disposed in fluid sealing relation to said barrel;

said barrel comprising an internal annular shoulder intermediate theends of the barrel surrounding and disposed in fluid sealing relation tosaid plunger sleeve between said pistons;

said shoulder and pistons defining fluid pressure chambers which may beselectively pressurized and vented to move said plunger in eitherlongitudinal direction in said barrel; and

fluid connections on said barrel for selectively pressurizing andventing said chambers.

